Family Vacation - Best week of my year Part 1

I am SO behind on blogging. Where did the past three months go since I went on vacation with my family?! Well, I have a pretty good idea, and the time has been mostly well-spent, but I am glad to finally be able to focus on this!

Probably the BEST week of my year was spent in Lake Winnipesaukee, NH with Justin, Evan, their families and Dad & Chris. It was incredible. Pictures won't do it all justice, but at least it will help remind me in the future of everything that made that week incredible!

We all arrived on Saturday afternoon. It was the first time my GOS failed me in finding the location... only because we didn't have very good cell service! (I actually really enjoyed that during the week. I couldn't "be on my phone" because it didn't get service!) So, anyway, I drove up and down the main road a few times (even stopping to ask directions and no one could help). Finally, I found a lady who let me use her computer to get detailed directions. What did people do before computers??

Anyway - I found it and it was beautiful! Great view of the lake from my room. Just incredible all around. The first night, Evan agreed to watch Justin's boys so Becca, Justin and I could go to a Journey concert! It was outdoors and it was awesome! Such great tunes and fun to be outdoors enjoying it!

Little did we realize that the open seats we found were in the smoking section. Luckily, we were outside, but it still smelled terrible! The music on the other hand - awesome!

Here's the morning sunrise view from my room. Doesn't get much better than that for a morning wake up call! The only problem is that the sun was up around 5:30 Am and the room didn't have any curtains. So, that meant I was up at 5:30 AM!

Sunday, after church, we spent some time out on the water after Evan and Justin picked up the Motor Boat. Then, I headed with Justin, Becca and Riley to play mini-golf. It was a pretty sweet course!

I love this picture of Riley and I.

And yes, it was the beginning of August but I was cold enough for a sweatshirt!

Justin & Becca

That evening we all had dinner back at the house. Dad & Chris had brought some yummy food from RI and we had an enjoyable evening all together at the house. I am so glad we decided to all stay together and rent a real home rather than staying in a hotel. Totally made for a much better experience as we got to spend more time with each other!

Monday morning was a little cloudy, so most of us went to Wiers Beach. It had an arcade for the kids, go-carts and other fun stuff. I let Holland play on some of the rides. I don't think she liked this one very much!

And, I think I mad more fun on this one that she did!

Dad, Justin, Jace and Riley had a lot of fun go-carting. Dad was always a little behind the other two cars!

Jace just enjoyed the ride!

Then, that afternoon it had completely cleared up and we went out on the boat! The lake was so beautiful! I truly enjoyed just sitting on the boat, soaking in the sun, and watching others get tossed around on the tube!

Almost everyone tried water skiing, but I decided to stuck with tubing. Vacation is for rest and I find water skiing to be hard!!

Evan was great at everything he did. Justin too. 

That's my face after going on a WILD ride. My arms were so sore as I held on and my legs and body flew through the air as I went over bumps and waves. It was fun though!

Two of my favorite people. All smiles on the boat!

What a cute smile he has. 

Such a fun, enthusiastic, and GOOD boy!

Monday afternoon I decided to take "a little" hike on a trail close to the house. Well, the little hike turned in to over two hours and I got scared on the way up because I couldn't find the trail markers and the trail got very rocky and steep. I know I was off the trail for a while, but it led me to this site. Beautiful views! I didn't make it to the top because I lost the trail markers, but also because it was getting late and I didn't want it to get dark before I got down the mouton!

Monday night I watched the four kiddies while their parents and my dad and Chris went out to dinner.  I love being their aunt :)

Jamestown, Williamsburg, Norfolk... more items crossed off my bucket list!

The last week in July I had some flexibility (or a lot) with my work schedule and I was burned out way beyond usual. I decided to take my own little vacation and escape to southern Virginia for two days. It was perfect!

I love history and the east coast is full of it! I knew I could go to Colonial Williamsburg and spend the day there, but I wanted to do some of the smaller "off-the-beaten path" kind of things. After some research on my favorite travel website, I decided to go to Historic Jamestowne (The National Parks run this site. The state of Virginia tries to be a copycat and make money by doing a similar museum called "Jamestown" just down the street from the actual location.

Anyway - this was incredible! Again, another gorgeous day to be outside. I arrived just in time to have enough time to tour the inside exhibits and make it to the one hour ranger led tour of the actual site. This guy was so cool! He was a great story teller and knew how to keep his audience's attention!

I took some pictures of what they have there. Most is a replica (since it's been a few years since the settlement!)

 A British Flag, of course!

  

This cross sits almost right on the bank of the island. While I was there I learned of all the sacrifices the people made to establish the colony including giving up their own lives, starving, or simply any of the comforts from back home. They settled in such a swampy area and suffered some true hardships. I am grateful for them and what they did to pave the way for my "cush" and "free" life in America!

 This statement speaks truth!

 Did you know that the Disney movie "Pocohontas" isn't totally accurate? Yes, I was shocked as well. We learned the true story of John Smith and Pocohontas... and all others that were there at the time. But, John Smith definitely deserved this memorial in his honor!

 After my tour of Jamestowne I drive along the water and truly enjoyed the beauty of the area. I wish I had my bike instead and could have biked around! But, then I went to Williamsburg and fell in love with the town. It's mostly brick and just looks very nice and colonial even. I parked and walked around the beautiful William & Mary college which is the 2nd oldest college in the nation. Awesome! They have such a beautiful campus. I also stopped in the Wren building. It is the oldest college building in the United States and the oldest of the restored public buildings in Williamsburg. Very historic. And, they even still have classes in there for their current students!

 I spent the night in Newport News VA and enjoyed some time reading by the pool and relaxing. The hotel was awesome except that it seemed to be where many of the construction workers were also staying. More than once I got whistled at. They were desperate!

The next day was also beautiful! I went down to Norfolk because I have an obsession with the military right now. I love the TV show "Army Wives" and dream of being one :) So, I wanted a tour of the largest Navy base in America. It was impressive!!! But sadly I couldn't take pictures or they would have taken my phone! I just dream about what military life would be like. I don't want to be in the military, but I wouldn't mind being an officers wife :)

After the tour I drove in to downtown Norfolk to get some lunch and was glad I ran in to this statue. I believe it's called the "Homecoming" statue or something like that. But, I love how they just embrace each other. I can't even imagine what it would be like to worry about your loved one every day serving in some distant place, having that person miss out on the daily life and significant events, and becoming a single parent while they are away. I have so much respect, admiration and love for those who are in the military... and their families as well :)

Chincoteague

I am WAY behind on my blogging :) So, I will do some quick catch ups. The past few weeks have been busy but awesome!

A couple Saturdays ago I got to cross off another item on my bucket list! A trip to Chincoteague. Now, I had never heard of it until I moved to the area, but the town is perhaps best known for the Chincoteague Ponies, although these are not actually on the island of Chincoteague but on nearby Assateague Island. These ponies and the annual Pony Penning Day are the subject of  Marguerite Henry's 1947 children's book Misty of Chincoteague.

Therefore, my friend Misty was very excited to visit this island! The day we went was perfect weather! The drive was a bit long to get there with traffic, but we had lots of fun things to talk about :)

When we arrived, we immediately went to town and saw the statue of the famous horse! Pictures were a must!

 Miriam and Misty & Misty (the horse)

 Cara & Misty (& Misty)

This town LOVES their horse and namesake! 

As do many children who have read the book!

 We walked around the town and enjoyed some of the beach-town shops, etc, but getting to the beach was high on our list! Even though we were only able to lie on the sand for an hour before leaving for our boat tour, it was an hour well spent. I was definitely in my happy place!

 Our boat tour was fantastic! There were about 8 of us on it and our tour guide definitely knew his stuff! We got info about the island, the horses, their history, and anything else about the area. I really enjoyed it!

 We got great views of the island and although we didn't see any horses, we did see a bald eagle! It was awesome to see how fly and land so close to us. And yes, slightly sad to not actually see a horse, but our tour guide had lots of pictures, and stories to curb our interest.

Such a beautiful day!

Learned a lot!

Fabulous boat ride!

Fun friends!

AND... one more item crossed off my bucket list :)

Two more items off the bucket list!

I have this bucket list. Everything I want to do before leaving DC. Some are fun things, silly things, etc and some are more serious.

Well, a few weeks ago I crossed TWO items off the list. 

Now, that's a productive week!

Tour of the Pentagon!!

I had to apply for this back in April, but it was worth it!

So, you can't take picture inside the Pentagon, but you can in the VC area. They put up this fake stand etc for people like me... cheesy, everyday Americans wanting to look important :)

I look official, right?!

I also liked this "statue" they had next to it.

I am so PROUD to be an American!

The Pentagon was AMAZING! So, the tour itself would have been super interesting for me if I knew about the branches of the military, their history and what-not. We basically spent the entire hour walking it's halls. But, that's also what I found more interesting! The Pentagon is like a city within itself! There are 5 sides, 5 levels above ground, 2 below (maybe more that are secret!!), and 5 ring corridors. All in all, if you walked the entire thing it would be 17.5 miles. And... I kind of feel like we walked that. With my knee hurting these days... that was a major undertaking, but VERY worth it! On the inside of it there is an enclose 5-acre outdoor area with another cafe. Awesome.

We had to go through two security entrances but I am completely smitten by military men. I'll go through any security they ask me to because they're just so dang polite! And, they look fabulous in uniform, I must say :)

As we all know, one side was struck by a plane in 9/11. 125 people inside were killed. We walked the way the plane came in to the building and stopped at some of the locations where the plane eventually stopped. Luckily the plane hit a side that had been recently renovated preventing it from doing further damage. But, there is a very sweet memorial and chapel inside the pentagon that we got to spend some time in. It was neat and yet, so sad.

I loved getting the chance to take a tour. I just wish I could have taken pictures... and even more so, it made me want to be an ARMY WIFE!!! Like in the TV show!

President Lincoln's Cottage!

I had only recently learned of this in DC... like last year maybe. It's an unknown gem. But, after seeing the movie about Lincoln last fall, and reading the book "Killing Lincoln", he has become one of my most favorite presidents. So, when a groupon came up with this tour I snatched it!

And, asked Mer to come with me! It was great!! I wish I had more time to look at the exhibits in the VC, but I'll go back. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, but so were some of the others on our tour. History buffs with cool, fun, interesting facts. The house itself was plain... not much furniture because it had been used for an office building and hospital since the days of Lincoln, but it was neat to be there in the room while stories were shared and one could create an image in their mind with what life would have been like. 

Lincoln was definitely a smart, courageous and wise man. He was a hard worker and faced many pressures from all sides, but I think he also had strong morals and wanted to do what was right.... even if that was taking the harder road. 

It was a wonderful visit and I would suggest it to anyone!

Mer wanted me to get a picture with her sitting on his horse. 

They told us no. WHY not?!

The picture below is the two of us with the cottage behind us (and behind the tree)

There was a wedding taking place there later in the day. Kind of a weird place to have a wedding... but wasn't my wedding, so who am I to comment?!

I think if I lived in Lincoln's day... we would have been friends :)

Hair D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R

 I decided to make a change. Do something different.

Boy - did I learn my lesson!

I went to a new salon that had gotten good reviews online and a friend recommended. I didn't go to her stylist, but figured that was OK.

WRONG

I walked in and right away I didn't feel so good about my decision! I should have turned around then, but I didn't. The stylist just seemed like she was in a bit of a rush and that "she knew best"... so I shouldn't question. Looking back - I don't know why I didn't run in another direction, but I didn't.

I asked her to go a shade or two lighter. I made the mistake of mentioning that my hair tended to have redish highlights when I was out in the sun for a while. Well, she focused on the "red" part. Long story short, I walk out of there 2 hours later with DARK Brown/Black hair and it's also a deep RED color. It was disaster... and that's an understatement.

I was just so discouraged... frustrated... mad....on the verge of tears. It had been a long day and a hard week and this was just one more thing that had gone wrong!

Well, luckily I stopped by Mer's house and she told me that I could call the salon in the morning and complain... and ask the to fix it! I honestly didn't think it was possible, but I learned they can "strip" your hair. It's not healthy for it. Literally - they bleach it. But, at this point I'd rather not have any hai than the hair I did!

So, I called Sat am and the manager said she would fix it. Well, when I got in, she was there as well as the lady who had done it the night before. Awkward! We had a few moments of disagreement, but luckily it smoothed over pretty quickly. Sadly though, she was the one who also stripped it and reapplied the new color. Let's just say we didn't talk much while she did it.

I took a picture as she was finishing "stripping" my hair. It's hard to tell how light it was... but I have never see it so light!

Here's a better picture of it!

We decided to just die it a light-medium brown. Well, when she was applying the color I got nervous again because this looked blond!

But, when it was done and wet, it looked super dark again. I just kind of threw up my hands! The stylist insisted on blowdrying it straight (further damaging it!) and it was a little light than I had first though. But, it seemed to also have a few colors in it. Especially around my face she hadn't totally removed the other color. Then, the top was still a bit red and the back was lighter.

Ha ha... whatever. I am forever messed up in the hair department. What's the use of worrying about it now.

I like the light shade at the bottom and in the back. 

I hope I can get it all that color someday.

Well, this is what I ended up with after spending 6 hours in a salon I am not going back to anytime soon. So much for getting lots of things done on the weekend!

Reasons why...

Life has been busy, but good!!! (at least for the past week)

Reason #1: Bekah got married!!

I wish everyone from our BYU days had been able to come for the wedding, but jobs, finances, and family obligations can sometimes get in the way. Totally understand. But, we sure will have one great reunion at some point!

Jen, Tami and Emmy were able to come though and it was SO great to see them! I haven't seen Jen in about ten years! We were able to attend the sealing in the DC temple. This was my 2nd sealing to be a part of and it was beautiful. I was able to take more of it in this time around since it wasn't a family member getting married and I kind of new what to do/expect this time around. It was just wonderful! 

Afterwards we went outside to wait for them to come out and we were able to snag a few pictures before it started POURING. The weather has been so crazy lately, but I guess that's what you get for a hot and humid DC summer!

 Fun to catch up with these girls though. Then, her reception at night was out at Meadowlark Gardens (ironically the name of the street I grew up on!) It was a beautiful place and the sun was finally out as most of the storms had passed. She had a beautiful sit-down dinner and dancing reception. Tami's husband and kids came as well as Emmy's husband. Great group!

 My arm looks gigantic in this picture. Very disproportionate! I think I grew a 2nd arm attached to my original one while the picture was being taken :)

Anyway - so happy for Bekah and Steve!!

Reason #2: I moved!!! 

But only 3 doors down (literally). A huge hassle, yes. But good in many ways b/c I took the time to go through and throw out a lot and it's nice starting over with a new layout in my apartment and new carpets, etc. I also got a balcony with my new place! WAHOO! If it wasn't so humid out I would use it more often, but I did buy two chairs for it :)

BUT, that also meant I had to take down and re-install my fan. NO EASY task. Peter and Kevin actually took it down. Then, Kevin and I worked for two hours (mostly Kevin) on Sat and had no luck with it (well, we got everything but the electrical part!). Tuesday I came home from work and was determined to get it working. A few phone calls to Justin and another 2 hours later and it worked!!

I felt like I was on top of the world

b/c I was smart enough to figure it out!

But Thursday came and it stopped working! Another two hours later I discover one of the electrical parts had come loose. I was SO done with installing the fan I did the bare minimum to put it back up the last time so it's missing it's outer casing. I could care less. 

Who looks up at the ceiling anyway?!

This picture has the casing.

This picture was taken Tuesday when I spoke of my success too soon :)

It's up and working. I have pictures on my walls. Most of the boxes unpacked. Starting to feel like home. But it was a major stress and I really felt that on my body! I was glad to have some of last week off to recover and get settled. 

Reason #3 & 4 - Not one - 

BUT TWO NATS games with David's tickets!

Awesome, right?!! This is the only way to watch baseball! Wed night July 3rd I went with Miriam, Kevin, and Brian. Very fun group!! And, the food was yummy as always. There was a nice breeze and the sun went down while we were there, but it was still nice and humid! 

I loved being this close and getting such great pictures. Seriously - 4 rows back from the NATS dugout! Here's Bryce Harper and another guy (maybe Zimmerman) with beards. What is it with the beards?! Maybe they're in "fashion" but I don't like facial hair on men no matter who they are! And, it's gotta make them even hotter as they stand out there in the blazing heat in their pants and polyester uniforms! Sweat must be pouring from them!

The game was good even though we lost :(  BUT afterwards we were surprised to find out there were fireworks!!! Wahoo! They were right behind where we were sitting so we just walked on up the stairs and out the gate!

BOOM!

BANG!

SPARKLE!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

And then I returned 12 hours later :) This time with Cortne, Scott and Cortne's friend Jeremiah (who was a major fan of the Brewers (Nats opponent that day!)

IT WAS SUPER HOT!

AND HUMID

AND NO BREEZE

I lasted two innings outside in the blazing sun and stayed to watch Neil Diamond sing his new song (thinking he would go to the field to sing). But no, he didn't want to be in the sun either so we could only see him on the jumbotron thingy. Disappointing!! But, cool that he was at least there. After he sang, we went up to the Diamond Club, ate quite a bit and watched the game in AC from the windows and TVs. Scott also ran in to some co-workers so they joined us at our table and we had a very fun time! I didn't stay for the whole game... I was baseballed out and had no desire to go sit in the sun again. My pool was calling my name!

This picture above is the view from the Diamond Club. Still a great view!

I love this panoramic shot that I took!

My Iphone camera is quite nifty!

The rest of my 4th and the weekend was fun and relaxing... movie and pool time with friends a few times (the pool that is), little more unpacking and organizing, a mani/pedi, temple trip, and FINALLY, FINALLY got through all the pictures from our ancestors and my younger years. 

Reason #5: Pictures mailed off for digitalizing!!

Mailed them off yesterday!! So excited for that. It's been a work in process for the past 9 months and many, many, many hours put in to it! Finally out of my hands!!!